Theater-chair.



i C. & M. R. TOOLE.

THEATER CHAIR.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 2!. i918.

1 ,299 ,8 1 0,, Patented Apr. 8, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

L. C. & M. R. TOOLE.

THEATER CHAIR.

\ PIC TION FIE ocr 2| 8 Patented Apr. 8, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEE 2- aww/ntoz W. 91:41

, "snare ton.

LUoIUs c. TOOLE AEEMAEGUERITE E. TOOLE, 0F JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY,

ASSIGNORS TO MOTION rIo'ruEE CHAIR so, me, or NEwYonK, 1v. 2., A con- PORATION OF NEW YORK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

'rHEA'rEEcirAIE.

Application filed October 21, 1918. SerialNo. 259,148.

T 0 all whom it mag concern.

Be it known that we, LUCIUS and MARGUERITE R. Toonn, citizens of the United States, and residents of Jersey City, county of Hudson, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Theater-Chairs, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in the class of chairs having pivotal seats which are particularly adapted for use in theaters.

An object of our invention is to provide simple and efficient means whereby the seat of a chair may swing or turn to the right or left to permit ready exit of the occupant and will return automatically to normal position when released by the occupant.

In carrying out our invention we provide a standard, a chair seat or bottom pivotally connected thereto, and means operatively interposed between said standard and seat to cause the latter to return to a normal position when released in case the occupant has swung said seat to one side or the other in leaving it. We also provide means to hunt the rotation of said seat relatively to the standard on opposite sides of the normal position of the chair.

Our invention further comprises novel details of improvement and combinations of parts that will be more fully hereinafter set forth and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is had to the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation of a chair embodying our invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section of a portion of the standard and the chair seat;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the upper portion of the standard;

Fig. l is a detail side elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 1 in a different position; and

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the chair.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views.

In the accompanying drawings the numeral 1 indicates a chair seat or bottom, which may be of any suitable construction, and at 2 is a standard or pedestal to which said seat is rotatively connected. The standard may be of any suitable construction and may be adapted to be secured to the floor. The seat 1 is shown provided with a de- C. TooLE pending hub 3, shown having a flange at whereby said hub maybe secured to said seat or bottom by screws or the like 5. At 6 a pintle or pin is shown provided witha head 6*, the hub 3 being shown provided with a bore 3 receiving said pintle (Fig. 2). The pintle 6 is shown attached to and extending upwardly from standard .2 whereby the hub 3 is rotatively guided upon said standard, Said pintle is shown secured in the bore 2* in the standard by means of a threaded member 7, which may extend forwardly and may curveupwardly at, 7" to serve in the nature of a support for a hat. The hub 3 is shown provided at its upper portion with a recess 8 in which the head 6 of pintle 6 is received, whereby the chair seat is rotatively retained upon standard 2, and may have limited vertical movement relatively thereto. The upper surface of standard 2 is shown inclined in a rearward direction at 9, and the lower end or surface .of hub 3 is also inclined in the same direction as illustrated at 10, to cooperate with a roller 11 pivotally supported upon a pin 12 in recess 12 in the upper end of standard 2. The arrangement is such that by reason of the cooperation of the inclined end 10 of hub 3 with the roller 11 the tendency of the chair seat or bottom will be to return to a normal position when moved therefrom, and by preference the rear portion 10 of the lower inclined surface 10 of hub 3' is at a less inclination than the forward portion of said surface to assure avoidance of contact'of the part 10* with the opposing end surface 9 of the standard 2. At 13 is a spring suitably connected at its ends with standard 3 and with the seat. Said spring is preferably under suitable normal tension and serves to aid in restoring seat 1 to its normal position when it has been turned to one side or the other from such position, said spring being placed under increased tension when the seat is turned to one side or another from said normal position by reason of the elevation of the chair as its under surface 10 rides upon the roller 1. The seat is provided with a projection 14 shown extending from hub 3, adapted to cooperate with stops 15, 16 on the opposite sides of the standard 2 to limit the rotation of the chair seat to one side or another from normal position.

Our improved chairs are particularly useful in theaters, and where individual seats are arranged side by side in rows to permit ready exit of the spectators or members of the audience, since when a person desires to leave the chair he or she may readily swing the seat to one side or the other from the normal position'facing the stage, to facilitate his or her departure, and when the seat is released it willreturn to normal position by reason of the action of the spring and the cooperation of the inclined surface 10 of hub 3 with roller 11, which parts also serve to retain the seat in such normal position.

Furthermore, by reason of the swiveling o fthe chair seat theoccupant may readily turn his or her knees to one side to permit the passage of a person in front, thereby avoiding the disagreeable requirement to rise from a chair in a. theater when a person desires to pass.

Our improvements are simple in construction, not liable to get out of order, efficient in use, and inexpensive.

Having thus described our invention, what fiepies 01' this patent maybe obtained for we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A chair comprising a standard, a seat pivotally connected thereto, one of said parts being provided with an inclined surface extending correspondingly on opposite sides of a low normal point and the other part having a member cooperative with said sur face, and a spring cooperative between the standard and seat and free to swing with the seat from side to side whereby the seat will be returned to normal when moved therefrom on either side thereof.

2. A chair comprising a standard, a seat pivotally connected with said standard, and an extensible spiral spring connected at one end to the standard and at the other end to said seat adapted to swing from side to side with the seat and to restore said seat to a normal position.

Signed at New York, county and State of New York, this 19th day of October, 1918.

LUCIUS C. TOOLE.

MARGUERITE R. TOOLE.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. 0. 

